3rd Annual TV News Trust Poll

PPP's 3rd annual TV news trust poll (2011 version here, 2010 version here) finds that Fox News tops the list for both the source Americans trust the most and the one they trust the least.

Fox is the most trusted TV news source for 34% of voters, followed by PBS at 17%, CNN at 12%, ABC News at 11%, CBS News at 8%, MSNBC at 5%, and Comedy Central and NBC each at 4%.

68% of Republicans pick Fox as their most trusted source, with no one else even hitting double digits. Democrats split closely three ways with PBS at 21%, ABC News at 19%, and CNN at 17%. Despite having a reputation for appealing to the left MSNBC actually polls in only 6th place among Democrats at 8%, finishing slightly behind even Fox News' 9%. Independents split almost evenly between Fox News (29%) and PBS (27%).

Fox is also the least trusted TV news source for 34% of voters, followed by Comedy Central at 16%, MSNBC at 15%, CNN at 11%, ABC News at 7%, CBS News at 5%, PBS at 2%, and NBC News at 1%.

Democrats (53-17 over Comedy Central) and independents (44-13 over Comedy Central) both overwhelmingly say Fox is their least trusted news source. Republicans go for MSNBC by a 28-23 margin over CNN, followed by Comedy Central at 18% and ABC News at 10%.

In addition to asking the single network voters trusted the most and least, we also asked them to say whether they trusted each individual source. Here's how they came out from net most trusted to least, compared with the previous two polls:

Outlet	2012 Trust/Distrust	2011 Trust/Distrust	2010 Trust/Distrust	Shift from 2010 to 2012	Shift from 2011 to 2012
PBS	(52/30) +22	(50/30) +20	Not Tested	N/A	+2
NBC News	(44/38) +6	(41/41) 0	(35/44) -9	+15	+6
CNN	(43/39) +4	(40/43) -3	(39/41) -2	+6	+7
Fox News	(45/42) +3	(42/46) -4	(49/37) +12	-9	+7
CBS News	(40/42) -2	(36/43) -7	(32/46) -14	+12	+5
ABC News	(37/40) -3	(35/43) -8	(31/46) -15	+12	+5
MSNBC	(38/43) -5	Not Tested	Not Tested	N/A	N/A
Comedy Central	(28/46) -18	Not Tested	Not Tested	N/A	N/A

-For the second year in a row PBS easily comes out ahead as the outlet the most people trust, even if it isn't necessarily the one they trust the most.

-In general trust in television news has been on the rise over the last two years. Trust in NBC News is up 15 points compared to 2010, CBS and ABC News are both up by 12 points, and CNN is up by 6 points. The only outlet in worse shape than it was 2 years ago is Fox News, which is down 9 points. But they're still headed in the right direction- they're up 7 points from 2011 after dropping by 16 points between 2010 and 2011.

-Democrats trust everything- except Fox News. NBC does the best with them at +50 (67/17), followed by PBS and CNN at +49 (66/17 and 65/16 respectively), ABC at +38 (57/19), CBS at +35 (58/23), MSNBC at +33 (56/23), and even Comedy Central at +4 (36/32). Fox News comes in at -36 (25/61).

-Republicans meanwhile don't trust anything except Fox News. PBS comes the closest to breaking even among non-Fox outlets, although not very close, at -30 (26/56).  It's followed by CNN at -49 (18/67), MSNBC at -51 (18/69), NBC at -52 (17/69), CBS at -54 (17/71), ABC at -56 (14/70), and Comedy Central at -59 (12/71). But Fox News comes in at a stellar 73/17.

Independents are with the Democrats. They trust everything except Fox News. Main takeaway from this poll: tv news has become just as polarizing as the political parties in this country.

Full results here

Comments

[Clint]

My interpretation is that liberals understand that corporate-owned media does not qualify as 'news' but rather opinion and entertainment, which might explain their exodus to PBS for unbiased information. On the other hand, it seems that conservatives favor conservative outlets instead of actual unbiased journalism.

[jason]

The next time you do this poll you should test newspapers,NYT, WSJ, USA TODAY, etc. I think the numbers for NPR would be similar to the results for PBS. I wonder how many people have heard of NPR, it seems not too many have. Here are my thoughts on the credibility of news sources.

http://www.jasonbeets.blogspot.com/2012/01/american-news-media-overview-much-of-my.html

Keep up the good work PPP!

[Justin]

I wish Current TV was polled too.

I'd love to see which Business channel is the most/least trusted poll. CNBC would easily win most trusted of the business channels.

[AJ]

Comedy Central? What about ESPN? HBO? Nickolodeon???

[38_28_38]

Good grief!

I had hoped last years trends would continue & they gave me hope for a smarter America. That more people trust the Fox Fakework than they did last year makes me nauseous.

They should be charged with TREASON for all the blatant lies they tell & misinformation they intentionally disseminate.

*sigh*

[scott schear]

What strikes me as most interesting is: "Democrats trust everything - except..." and "Republicans don't trust anything - except..."
I seriously wonder at the neurological differences that gives rise to this kind of extreme disparity in perception.

[Madi Green]

Why only TV networks as the source of broadcast news? Remember that old time broadcast news source, radio? Why wasn't NPR, my main news source, among the broadcast news sources tested?

[mike c]

Internet is the ONLY place left where you can get the news, if you spend 10-15 min. sorting through the garbage they put out online too. Drudge, Infowars, etc...growing bigger every day!

[Limp-Dick Blimpaugh]

Intelligent people can definitely see why Faux Noise is down in ratings and is so untrusted, since it has been proven over and over that it is completely Right Wing propaganda and lies. Also Faux has been proven to have an audience that is the most uninformed from all the habitual lies and misinformation spewed at them.

[Joseph B. Davis]

Thanks for the article. I watch most of the sources mentioned. Comment by Scott Schear, above, made a lot of sense: "I seriously wonder at the neurological differences that give rise to this kind of extreme disparity in perception". A tennis friend is rabid against Fox. I have asked him to give me 1,2,or 3 examples of lies that Fox spreads. He hasn't been able to come up with any. Fox programs lean to the right but I haven't caught Fox News in any lies. Any errors are usually corrected in the next program. In your next poll ask participants to substantiate with an example of why they hold the opinion they do.

[Ben Able]

I'm strictly independent in thought, action, and...above all...in politics. I pay less attention to what all the "talking heads" say, no matter which program I happen to be watching, but pay very close attention to what the President and all those closest to him say, and just as important, what they do. I am disgusted, however with the way the media display their bias by "creating" the news instead of reporting it. During the last election I was leaning heavily toward Obama, but then the "Reverend" Wright fiasco reared it's head. Obama claimed that he had attended Wright's church, and listened to his sermons for twenty years, and never realized what a rabid rabble rousing racist he was. Then I listened to his speeches as he went from state to state, changing the wording of each speech, though the subject was the same, to coincide with the wishes of the people in the particular venue even if it might be at odds with those with whom he had spoken earlier. And, then there was the ceremony where Obama and McCain were to lay a wreath in honor of those who died on 911. McCain bent over, and carefully, reverently, laid his wreath on the water but before he could stand up he was noticeably startled as Obama's wreath went flying past his head. I viewed it as a total lack of thought and respect.

During the last race between Bush and Gore, on election night, I kept switching back and forth between all channels, and one, especially...CBS...displayed a liberal bias to the extreme. Dan Rather was reporting on the election and he was visibly upset that the election was going in favor of Bush. He wouldn't even show the updates, and at one point commented, "There is still hope!" Meaning there was a slim possibility that Gore, by some miracle, would somehow pull ahead.

As for Fox News, though I frequently watch it, I sometimes have to switch channels when one of their frequent guests, ultra liberal Alan Combs, begins spewing wrathful froth all over my screen because of one sided view of the political spectrum.

[CC in NY]

The age data in the pdf file makes no sense. The breakdown of ages in the question does not match the breakdown in the data.

[Al Pippin]

Those who dislike Fox News, frequently dispel Fox's news as being frequently inaccurate, deceptive or of creating out and out lies in their reporting of news events. I, for one, would like to know of ANY evidence, supporting those accusations. On the other hand, Fox News often reports news events that wouldn't be heard on other networks, due to the fact that they don't fit those networks' liberal leanings.

[Cory]

Suffolk University recently published a simliar poll on who people trust in the news. Fox News again came out on top, with Bill O'Reilly being the most trusted personality by a long shot.

One thing that I think skews the results is the demographics of those who actually watch news. Right leaning voters typically watch more news, in general, than left leaning voters. Those over the age of 50, who watch the most news, favor Fox tremendously, while those 18-25 avoid fox almost entirely.

[wants realnews]

How can anybody trust fox when they won't even allow it in Canada because their news is full of opinion and not reliable

[Thesteelgeneral]

The real problem is not repukkkelican'ts, its the fact that amazingly, Dems still trust FoKKKs news somewhat, and rate MSNBC below FoKKKs !!!!

[Joe Stembar]

WTF! Fox News is a pile of Bull$hit!

[Bridgett Standring]

Why is FOX news the only network talking about Benghazi? Does America not care anymore about their own security and livlihood? If we do not get the FACTS (thank you FOX) about what happened on top of the lack of answers, it will only do more harm. WHat will happen to the morale of our men in armed forces? WHo will protect you? If we minimize this incident, we will send the wrong message to our protectors. Again, I ask, why hasn't any other news source reported on this issue and ask Obama the important questions? Why are they protecting him. Do they love him more than they love their own country. I do no rely on any one news source without seeking a primary source. Gone are the days in believing what the news tells us because they tell us only what they want us to hear and not the facts. And yes, FOX news is guilty of this as well but when it comes down to it, i trust them the most. They interview a lot of liberals and always allow them to refute in which most decline. Hmmmmm wonder why?

[T Stinar]

Bill O'reilly is a trusted information source because he justifies his opinion with EVIDENCE, which is the key to separating honest analysis from propaganda.

[Chris Skidmore]

I really don't understand why people think that their news source is THE only news source that tells ALL facts with NO bias....Really guys? I happen to watch Fox news more than not, and I am more conservative in my views than not. But to say that Fox gets it right all the time is ridiculous. Every news network has bias within. Take Sean Hannity or Rachel Maddow for two good examples. I cannot stand to watch either of them, because they never fail to display their biases throughout the WHOLE SHOW. They act like the members of the other political party are all the devil. We should have listened to George Washington when he told us not to form political parties. We would still have biases, but they would be directed more towards specific people and not a party of millions of people. Alright, I'm done.